My Suburban Escapes

Let’s face it: we’re all going a little crazy. We’ve been good – really really good. We’ve stayed home with our families for a solid year now. We’ve become intimate with our own houses in ways we never imagined possible. We’ve become more self-reliant, realized that less is more, and returned our focus for the most part to the important stuff of life. We could all probably use a little respite from our confines – time spent in someone else’s house. I toyed with the idea of starting a weekend home swap, but it was squashed by that nasty little virus clipping everyone’s wings. Hotels are opening up but flying to them is still discouraged. And there’s still not much open in the cities. But the natural world is wide open. And there are places that offer primo access to a change of pace – lodges and cabins at which a walk in the woods or a sunset are the main event.

Before the pace of life ratchets up again, take a day or night to practice what you’ve learned this year. As did Thoreau, immerse yourself in nature to see if you’ve gained a more objective understanding of society through personal introspection – like the Transcendentalists.  Take a night away to practice simple living and self-sufficiency. Find your own Walden Pond, that little clean well-lighted place where you don’t have to do the laundry.

“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately,
to front only the essential facts of life.
And see if I could not learn what it had to teach and not,
when I came to die,
discover that I had not lived.”

– Henry David Thoreau

In the early 20^th Century, America experienced a wave of appreciation for the salubrious effects of time spent in nature, and I’m praying we have another wave post-pandemic. Harriman State Park was built in 1910 for this purpose, in large part to connect children of urban poverty with nature. Many corporations and non-profits built fabulous lodges and camps along the shores of its many lakes to encourage fresh air and sunshine for city folk, several of which are still in operation and open to membership. The Adirondack Club, the American Canoe Association and the New York State Parks Department all own rustic lodges on Lake Sebago, the largest lake in the park. The Algonquin word for “big water,” Sebago is long, curved and divided into two sections by Brundige Hill, creating privacy and great views from each camp.

The New York chapter of the Adirondack Club has a wonderful lodge, “Nawakwa”, built in 1926. The rustic main cabin can accommodate large groups for meals and social activities; in addition, there are 6 sleeping cabins with comfortable beds, numerous tent sites, a large swim dock and floating platform. Members have access to kayaks, canoes, two rowboats, and a sailboat.The annual membership cost is currently $25-$60 depending on type (student, individual, family, or senior). The only additional costs are a one-time Applicant fee of $25 and, if you successfully qualify to be a Nawakwan Keyholder member, a fee of $35 for a set of keys.
http://www.adkny.org

The American Canoe Association (Atlantic Division) camp was built in 1928 for Rogers Peet & Co, a high-end men’s clothing company in NYC, and taken over by the ACA in 1933.   It is managed by a camp committee and is open to ACA members 7 days a week, 24 hours a day from May 1 to October 15.  The camp encompasses 15 acres of parkland surrounded on three sides by water with 21 rustic cabins, 9 tent platforms, a large rustic lodge and a wonderful swimming area with many docks. You must be a current member of ACA ($40 annual dues). Season passes range from $65 for individuals to $150 for families, or a $10 daily fee.  You get your own key or combo to the gate. http://www.aca-atlanticdivisionblog.com.

Sebago Cabin Camp was built in 1927 for the employees for four NYC banks and turned over to a concessionaire to offer camping to the public in 1986. It is now owned and managed by New York State Parks. It offers rustic cabins and full-service cottages – very inexpensively. Season is 5/3 to 10/13. To make reservations go to www.reserveamerica.com or call 800.456.2267. http://www.parks.ny.gov.

Other lakes in Harriman offer respite as well. The Thendara Mountain Club has a rustic lodge overlooking Lake Tiorati.  Thendara was formed as an outdoors club under its parent group the Green Mountain Club in 1916.  The historic cabin, built in 1920, is used for dining, socializing, reading or enjoying a fire in the fieldstone hearth. The 100 year-old group camp cabin has a screened-in porch, sleeping rooms and a complete kitchen. The bunkhouse is a screened sleeping house available for year-round use.  Thendara maintains a private swim dock, a boat dock and boat house on Lake Tiorati.  Tent sites round out the overnight camping options. Membership required. www.thendaramountainclub.com.

The Appalachian Mountain Club offers the Stephen & Betsy Corman AMC Harriman Outdoor Center on Breakneck Pond. It is open to the public (no membership required). www.amclodging@outdoors.org.  AMC also owns the Mohican Outdoor Center in Blairestown, NJ, in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area which it operates in partnership with the National Parks Service. The camp is on a glacial lake on the Appalachian Trail, Catfish Pond. The best cabins are to be found by driving straight past the check-in cabin, parking and walking to end of road/camping area where there are several cabins right on the lake (Boat House, Larchview) or close enough (Trails End, Stone House) to be appealing.  AMC also has three lodges in Maine and three in New Hampshire. Information on all can be found at www.outdoors.org.

If rustic is not your bag or if a regular weekend rental is more your style, check out Tiny Houses  (www.dreambiglivetinyco.com). The best of the lot on this site include:

*The Glass House in the Hudson Valley, Marlboro, NY,
*Rustic Tiny House on Farm in Upstate Catskills, Woodridge, NY
*Container Cabin in the Catskills, Saugerties, NY
*Rustic Tiny Cabin near the Hudson, North Creek, NY

Or if glamping suits you best:

*Gather Wild Ranch (gatherwildranch.com) in Germantown, NY
*Harmony Hill Retreat (harmonyhillretreat.com) in East Meredith, NY
*Mountain Horse Farm B&B (mountainhorsefarm.com) in Naples, NY
*Collective Retreats (collectiveretreats.com) on Governor’s Island. Opens May 1, 2021

There is a Walden Pond experience awaiting each of us, all within an hour of Rye. Get out there and practice what the pandemic taught you.